Seriously love this store, it is a gem and a welcome find in the area. Store has a ton of books, is well lit, organized and shoppable. Always the same lady working, man I adore her. Sweet little Oder lady who is super helpful, friendly and she is a hard worker. I may not always find what I am looking for - as is normal at a used book store - but I have always found something worth purchasing. read more

When we camp up in Northern Maine, we will often stop here as a day trip. Very few bookstores like this still exist in Maine, and it is massive! Books on every subject you can imagine! If you are looking for something the store probably has it. Old books to new books, there are thousands. If it wasn't 4 hours north of me I'd shop there all the time! Well organized and cool to look through the different rooms. The service is usually pretty good and they'll help you find whatever you're looking for. Prices are pretty reasonable on the books as well, though some are priced higher than others. Now to the negatives. There isn't a public restroom. With a shop this big, there should be. If you need to use a restroom you have to leave and find one elsewhere, then return if you want to keep shopping. It's really inconvenient. A big problem is that the shop is CASH ONLY, with no ATM available. I get why smaller businesses opt out of credit/debit cards, but this bookstore is big (in size) and a lot of people, myself included, rarely carry cash. Like with the restroom, you have to leave to find an ATM somewhere to be able to pay for your books. read more

The bookstore reportedly has 250,000 books and it is awesome. Great layout, different 'rooms' for different topics. Prices are great (low)! I spent a little over three hours on my first visit. Bought a few 'stacks', including some beauties printed in the 40s and 50s. Will be back soon. read more

Love this place. I visit Houlton once a year from NJ and make it to Volumes at least twice while I am here. Usually spend 2-3 hours there when I come. read more

The bookstore reportedly has 250,000 books and it is awesome. Great layout, different 'rooms' for different topics. Prices are great (low)! I spent a little over three hours on my first visit. Bought a few 'stacks', including some beauties printed in the 40s and 50s. Will be back soon. read more

This is a great used bookstore. Huge selection and above average organization. This place is cavernous. Room after room of books. I didn't see a large selection of first editions or rare books (although there is a great old Maine book section) but plenty of great reading copies. Paperbacks seem to generally be priced between $1.50 and $4. I read the prior review about a grumpy staff. Not my experience. Both the man behind the counter and the woman running around organizing stock were friendly and helpful. My guess is someone was not accustomed to the Maine/Yankee stoicism. read more

I'm a book collector. On vacation through Maine recently I was able to visit five different used bookstores. The Village Bookstore of Houlton is one of the best used bookstores I've ever visited! It certainly has the largest collection of used books. Confusing? Sure some might call the layout of the store confusing, I'd say it's eclectic, it's got its own special style, around every turn is yet another room full of books. Disorganized? Somewhat... they have generally abandoned alphabetical order for most of their stock, but the books are loosely arranged according to subject matter. Not too long ago they expanded the store opening up a large half-court room of recent novels that is alphabetized. The way it is organized makes looking for a book exciting; there are treasures there that a busybody would miss, - - there are treasures that I'm sure the owners have missed.... all very reasonably priced. Over the years I have come away with some great books, first edition classics, leather bound bibles, rare translations and some of my favorite books hardbound. Houlton is a border town at the very end of I95 in Maine, it's out of the way, but this unassuming bookstore is one of its treasures. read more

Had a nice visit at Volumes today - I was able to trade in some books I was done with and pick up a few new ones. So glad that the store stays open year after year. Dealing in used books is such a GREAT service to the community! The store is so large, you never know what treasures you might find. The store would be a terrific resource to a classroom teacher trying to expand a classroom library in an affordable way. Looking forward to coming back for a longer visit next rainy day. read more

Just a fantastic bookstore. The selection, the atmosphere, great owners.. If you're ever in Houlton this is a must go!:)

Hello, I'm a Maine resident of over a decade. I'm not from CT or GA. So I have been to the bookstore several times, not once, and love the selection of books. Whenever I'm unable to go I ask loved ones to tell me about the books they think I would like which are able to be purchased from this book store; and they either purchase them for me or I am thankfully able to visit later to purchase them. The owner of the store, being that it is a small town where this bookstore is located has presumably few people working for him to upkeep the store. Large genres are organized into sections such as - "Children's" fiction and nonfiction including: "Goosebumps," "Junie B Jones," etc. "Adult's" nonfiction and fiction including: romance, autobiographies, textbooks, holybooks, etc. "Crafts," sewing, knitting, painting, drawing, etc. Anything you can find at a big bookstore business can be found here. Though this bookstore is much like a thrift store for books; it includes vintage books, old, used, new, everything. I think what the previous reviewers are forgetting about the basis of business is to make a profit. And unless the owner makes a reasonable profit, which is not $2 - when the asking price is $4, he cannot continue to keep his business afloat. Prices that I remember are $4, $6, $13, $20, $25. So I have yet to find a considerably "expensive" book able to be purchased there. A loved one recently purchased an informational book here for $4 when the listed price elsewhere, including Amazon, was upwards of $13. So, contrary to other reviews, I was very thankful for the price. I think if a tourist were to visit my place of business, a bookstore, in a small town, and bargain down an already bargain priced book I would be quite sassy too. Given the overall presumed cost to keep a business open. Might I suggest visiting a business, such as this bookstore, a few times before giving input. read more

The owner, as mentioned in another review, is unfriendly and hostile- he seemed offended/annoyed when we asked for assistance. I thought maybe he doesn't like 'outsiders,' but he was also rude towards a local family. Normally I would leave after experiencing poor customer service, but my family wanted to browse. The inventory is staggering. Around every corner, there was another room of books. Unfortunately, the place is incredibly disorganized. The layout is confusing - you really need a map to navigate the place or, you know, a friendly employee. Pfft. It appears that the owner has abandoned any attempt to keep his books organized and alphabetized and just crams books in any available space. Don't bother using a list to check their inventory. If you are looking for a certain book, you have to search an entire section to make sure you don't miss anything. To make matters worse, many books are shelved in the wrong section. read more

This place is a gold mine for anyone wanting to go digging for the treasures that are there waiting to be found. I am from Woodstock, New Brunswick, Canada, right across the border and had never ever heard of this place. I found the staff to be both friendly and helpful. I will definitely go back. This place is massive with treasures galore. Plan on spending some time, take a lunch. read more

The owner of this store is very rude, nasty and unhelpful. If asked for a certain book or certain genre of books he will not show you where it is or where it is likely to be kept. The prices for many of his books are higher than you would pay elsewhere, especially on the internet (and without the nasty attitude). Most of the used paperbacks are priced at 4 or more dollars and that is unacceptable for many of them since they will be read in a couple of days then given away or donated to charity. When I asked if he would be willing to part with the books that we had chosen for a few dollars less, he simply said "nope" in a nasty and childish tone. When I pointed out that the book that he had priced at 4 dollars had not sold in the 6 months since we had last been there and I was offering him two dollars to take it out of his inventory, he said that he has books there that have been there for 6 years and he doesn't care if they stay there forever. Mmmm, okay - keep your books forever, then. I pointed out that he should be a bit nicer to his customers and attempted to explain that it's not what you say but how you say it. Shockingly, he freely admitted that he is able to be nasty to his patrons and to charge prices that are higher than average for used books because his store is the "only game in town and where else you gonna go?" Wow, not a good attitude and not someone that I want to give my money to. He may be the "only game in town" in Houlton but we shop used book stores all over Maine so we have lots of options. This is one place that I wouldn't go unless I was looking for abuse. Not a nice shopping experience and I will not be back. If you have any options whatsoever, avoid this place - especially if you have any self respect. read more